Despite legal affirmations of women's rights to abortion, actual access to the procedure in North America is increasingly curtailed. Melissa Haussman analyzes this disturbing disparity between official policies and daily realities in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Haussman examines the successes of U.S. antichoice groupsgroups that have extended their reach to    More >

The State of the Union is no ordinary speech on at least two accounts: it is a fundamental statement of how a president approaches current policy debates, and it is the one presidential address that US citizens are most likely to hear each year. Donna Hoffman and Alison Howard document the political significance and legislative impact or, often, lack of impact of this most visible of    More >

Madam President? The question is not if, but rather when the United States will elect a female president—but that may be the only certainty involved in shattering this most visible glass ceiling in U.S. society.

Who will be included in the field of candidates for Madam President, and why? How will she have to position herself for a viable run at the Oval Office? Once in    More >

How did a president-elect whose win was hardly convincing, and who had the narrowest margin of congressional support imaginable, create an advantage for himself that prevailed in the face of unexpected and unprecedented challenges? To answer this question, John Burke offers an in-depth account of George W. Bush's unconventional transition to power—and the significant developments that    More >

Why does the right dominate debates on crime, family values, and economic freedom? Why does the left defend divisive aspects of affirmative action, while equivocating on questions of ecology and political empowerment for young people? The answer, Cummings believes, is that too many progressives have avoided politically sensitive issues, condemning themselves to intellectual atrophy and political    More >

Blending insightful scholarship with a "nuts and bolts" approach, Campaigns and Elections examines the electoral process at the local, state, and national levels.

The authors—leading scholars, political professionals, and election administrators—focus on such current issues as the use of pollsters and political consultants, campaign finance reform,    More >

What is regulation? Why do governments regulate, and how does regulatory change take place? Exploring these and other questions, the second edition of Contemporary Regulatory Policy demystifies the field of regulatory politics.

Eisner, Worsham, and Ringquist have completely updated their examination of the regulatory process in seven major areas: antitrust, banking and    More >

Jimmy Carter participated in more than two hundred interviews between 1976 and 1996. In the twenty-three conversations presented here, highly regarded interviewers lead President Carter to clarify his public stands and private beliefs.

The dialogue created through these encounters demonstrates the growth of a principled man, encapsulating the major debates and concerns of the    More >

Cozy politics, Peter Kobrak contends, is shredding the already fragile fabric of political rapport between citizens and their government. Exploring the insidious system that encourages elected officials to cooperate with their supposed opponents—rather than with their own constituents—he reveals the enormous power that wealthy donors and interest-group supporters wield over    More >

Through case studies of two prison systems—the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons and the Dutch prison system—Arjen Boin identifies the challenges and opportunities that confront public managers who want to reorient correctional policy and make prisons more effective.

Crafting Public Institutions contrasts the two prison systems to show how focused leadership—or its    More >

Seldom do we notice, let alone explicitly acknowledge, that public policies set distinct parameters for gender. But as Creating Gender compellingly demonstrates, in reality governments do use policy—to legitimize and support some gender-based behaviors, while undermining others.

Looking in depth at the case of welfare reform, but considering a wide range of policy    More >

Conservatives and liberals agree that President Bill Clinton's effort to lift the military's gay ban was perhaps one of the greatest blunders of his tenure in office. Conservatives argue that Clinton should have left well enough alone; liberals believe that he should have ordered the military to accept homosexuals rather than agreeing to the compromise "don't ask, don't tell" policy. In    More >

While many commentators and political scientists dismissed Jesse Ventura's rise to the governorship as a fluke of celebrity, Jacob Lentz shows that it was Minnesota's unique electoral rules, coupled with on-target campaign dynamics, that enabled a third-party candidate to reach office.

In this first complete account of Ventura's victory, Lentz draws on tantalizing details from the actual race    More >

In eight of the past dozen presidential elections, TV networks proclaimed the winner while citizens on the West Coast, Hawaii, and Alaska were still casting ballots. Is this a problem? Do media projections decrease voter turnout? Carefully examining data from every presidential election held from 1960 through 2004, William Adams definitively answers both questions.

Adams employs a range of    More >

All men may be created equal in the United States—but more than 30 years after Congress approved the Equal Rights Amendment, can the same be said for women? Elusive Equality offers a clear understanding of how government institutions—the executive branch, Congress, and state legislatures, as well as the federal courts—affect the legal status of women.

Surveying    More >

Dozens of ethnic groups work determinedly to achieve specific policy goals in Washington, but to what degree do they actually wield power? Which groups are the most influential, and why? David Paul and Rachel Anderson Paul consider the relative impact of 38 ethnic lobbies to determine whether—and if so, how—they affect the course of US foreign policy.

Paul and Paul    More >

Desegregating the military. The internment of Japanese Americans. Limiting stem-cell research. Each of these actions has been accomplished by way of executive order—bypassing the legislative process. Adam Warber offers an in-depth look at how modern presidents use this weapon in their arsenal of authority.

Warber systematically analyzes the strategic nature of close to    More >

In the past fifteen years, presidents from two parties, supported by parents, teachers, and civic leaders have tried—and generally failed—to increase student achievement through federal policymaking. Supposedly pathbreaking legislation to "leave no child behind" has hardly made a dent in the problem. What is going on? Kevin R. Kosar delves into the political maneuvering    More >

Whether editing speeches and appearing on the campaign trail, presiding over White House renovations and social events, championing important causes, or functioning as the president's most trusted adviser, first ladies have made significant contributions to the heads-of-state's careers and to the nation. Yet, the accomplishments of those who have acted as the power behind the presidency have gone    More >

Florida 2000 offers a clear, but also nuanced, account of the legal and constitutional issues surrounding the disputed presidential election. Combining original sources with analyses, Mark Whitman traces the major developments in the Bush-Gore struggle.

Section introductions and commentaries synthesize the often complex material, while editor's notes provide context for each    More >

Legalized gambling has spread like wildfire through the United States, with only Hawaii and Utah still prohibiting all of its forms. The reason? Gambling has become the method of choice for states in search of additional revenue: in 2002 alone, state lottery sales exceeded $42 billion, netting nearly $14 billion in "voluntary taxes." Gambling Politics examines this dramatic    More >

From Providence, Rhode Island, to Sacramento, California, from Rockford, Illinois, to Albuquerque, New Mexico, what mayors do—and how they do it—is crucially important to sustaining and revitalizing U.S. cities. Proceeding from this premise, Governing Middle-Sized Cities presents twelve case studies of mayoral leadership and creativity.

Each study provides a brief background sketch    More >

This comprehensive overview of US environmental regulation from the inception of the EPA through the current Bush administration goes beyond traditional texts to consider alternatives to the existing regulatory regime, as well as the challenges posed by the global nature of environmental issues.

Thoughtful and evenhanded, Governing the Environment covers the full    More >

This important new book reveals how the stricter US border-control activities of the past decade have affected the behavior of migrants and potential migrants in rural Mexico.

The authors establish direct links between changes in immigration-control policies and changes in the decision to migrate, choice of destination, mode of entry, and inclination to participate in a temporary worker    More >

"It's my land, I can do whatever I want with it." "This is our neighborhood (or city, or park), and we should be the ones deciding how it's used." These are two strongly held—and diametrically opposed—views of appropriate land use. As John G. and Leslie Pickering Francis demonstrate, the debate about what to do with land is messy, complex, and often based on    More >

An untold story of the last decade is the rapid ascent to electoral office of Latinos nationwide, who now hold more than five thousand elected positions. Latino Political Power provides a comprehensive and accessible introduction to Latino politics from the early 20th century to the present.

The purpose of the book is twofold: to capture the transition of Latinos from disenfranchised outsiders    More >

How much money can a candidate for political office legally collect, and from what sources? What can and can't be said in campaign ads? Who determines the process of redistricting, and what is the overall effect on U.S. democracy? Law and Election Politics analyzes the rules of the electoral game, helping readers to understand how politics influences and is influenced by electoral laws    More >

This wide-ranging new study grapples with the increasingly complex array of opportunities and challenges that face women today as both legislative candidates and elected officials.

Offering cutting-edge, original research, Legislative Women expands our knowledge on an array of critical topics. The contributors address everything from campaign finance to the significance of race    More >

What drives cities to pursue large-scale, high-profile events like the Olympic games? What are the consequences for citizens and local governments? Investigating local politics in three U.S. cities—Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Salt Lake City—as they vied for the role of Olympic host, this book provides a compelling narrative of the evolving political economy of modern megaevents.

The    More >

From aspirin to Viagra to the latest cancer treatment, the Food and Drug Administration acts as a gatekeeper determining what medicines are legally available in the United States. But in fulfilling that regulatory role, Stephen Ceccoli argues, the FDA may inadvertently be promoting new drugs at the expense of public health.

The FDA's initial mandate to protect health grew out of    More >

 A Choice Outstanding Academic Book!

After years of decline, why has party attachment become a strong force once again in U.S. politics? Jeffrey Stonecash argues that the recent resurgence of partisanship is but the latest chapter in a larger story of party realignment —a story that reaffirms the centrality of political parties.    More >

Politics and the Press not only examines how journalists define the news; it also explores the role of the media in elections and the shaping of public opinion, as well as the reportage of the news on policy issues.

This important work presents original research by a unique team of visiting scholars, journalists, and industry leaders at the Joan Shorenstein Center at Harvard    More >

Kenneth Kitts offers entry into the highly political, behind-closed-doors world of blue-ribbon investigative commissions convened in the aftermath of national security crises.

Ranging from Pearl Harbor to the September 11 terrorist attacks, Kitts takes the reader into the "backroom" to watch as presidents, their advisers, and commission members confront an armory of    More >

Burke's detailed and comprehensive account of the four presidential transitions from Jimmy Carter to Bill Clinton explores how each president-elect prepared to take office and carefully links those preparations to the performance and effectiveness of the new administration. Enriched by interviews with the key participants, this sobering tale of the difficulties that new presidents have encountered    More >

This accessible yet challenging introduction to public policy navigates the concepts and methods of the policymaking process, as well as the values influencing policy choices.

The authors first cover the basics: How do issues reach the policy agenda? How are policies crafted and implemented? Who pays/benefits? How is the effectiveness of a policy determined? They then apply this foundation to    More >

The Republican Party once enjoyed nearly unanimous support among African American voters; today, it can hardly maintain a foothold in the black community. Exploring how and why this shift occurred—as well as recent efforts to reverse it—Michael Fauntroy meticulously navigates the policy choices and political strategies that have driven a wedge between the GOP and its formerly    More >

From the news room  to pop culture, all signs suggest that the United States is finally ready for a woman in the White House. But is the vision of an imminent Madam President truly in line with today's political reality?  Rethinking Madam President offers a critical assessment of the inroads made by female candidates into the previously male bastion of electoral    More >

Does federal funding of a church's welfare-to-work program constitute government endorsement of a particular religion? Do religious organizations that accept public funds lose the legal autonomy needed to preserve their religious identity and mission? Wading into the constitutional battle over whether government can/should enlist the help of religious organizations in delivering social services,    More >

Though women constitute 52 percent of U.S. voters, as of October, 1996 only 10 percent of the members of Congress and one of the 50 state governors are women. Why, more than 75 years after they won the right to vote, are women so severely underrepresented in elected office? Why does it seem that, as voters, their influence is not equal to their numbers? Much of the conventional wisdom and    More >

This new edition of Tabloid Justice reveals that, although the media focus on high-profile criminal trials is thought by many to have diminished in the years since the September 11 terrorist attacks, the polarized, partisan coverage of these trials has in fact continued unabated. The authors investigate the profoundly negative impact of the media's coverage of the criminal justice    More >

Despite a broad political environment conducive to deregulation, television is one industry that consistently fails to loosen government's regulatory grip. To explain why, Lori Brainard explores the technological changes, industry structures, and political dynamics influencing this policy quagmire.

Contradicting current scholarly and popular accounts, Brainard demonstrates that    More >

In the last decades of the twentieth century, many political leaders declared that government was, in the words of Ronald Reagan, "the problem, not the solution." But on closer inspection, argues Elaine Kamarck, the revolt against government was and is a revolt against bureaucracy a revolt that has taken place in first world, developing, and avowedly communist countries    More >

How is U.S. public policy made? This comprehensive survey, designed to help students and scholars understand the complexity of policymaking, traces the Employee Commute Option (ECO) step by step from initial idea through enactment and implementation to evaluation and reformulation.

The authors integrate two dominant theories in the policy analysis literature—the policy cycle model and    More >

The Making of Telecommunications Policy examines the history, politics, and impact of telecommunications policy.

Beginning with a comparison of several alternate views of the future, Olufs explains how government action makes the widespread use of some new technologies more likely than others. He details the challenges that rapid advances in communications technologies pose for    More >

In this comprehensive new text, J. David Woodard integrates the best features of a state-by-state focus on politics in the southern states with a thematic overview of the region's social, economic, and political life.

Notably, the text:

• Profiles significant figures and events from the real world of politics
• Highlights vital dimensions of    More >

The Other Elites features original essays that provide important insights for both presidential studies and the study of women in U.S. politics.

The contributors to this innovative book have two purposes: to study the career paths of women within the executive branch of U.S. government, and to consider gender as a variable in the study of complex organizations. Using    More >

Does Alaska's reliance on oil and gas mean that it inevitably will be controlled by corporate energy interests? Or can the state use its vast resource holdings to manage a more symmetrical partnership? The Political Economy of Oil in Alaska investigates the complex relationship Alaska has with its most precious commodity.

Offering a new perspective on the challenges of    More >

How are budget decisions made by the US government? Is it fair to blame skyrocketing deficits on an inability to curtail spending? How—and why—are taxing and spending decidedly separate political processes?

Emphasizing budgetary politics rather than economic theories, Patrick Fisher offers a clear, thorough overview of how money flows through our government coffers. A    More >

Are female office holders most acceptable when they most resemble men? Why has a woman never led the Department of the Treasury, or Defense, or Veterans Affairs? Reflecting on these and similar questions, MaryAnne Borrelli explores women's selection for—and exclusion from—U.S. cabinet positions.

Borrelli considers how the rhetoric employed in the selection and    More >

Why do presidents bother to give speeches when their words rarely move public opinion? Arguing that "going public" isn't really about going to the public at all, Matthew Eshbaugh-Soha explores to whom presidential speeches are in fact targeted, and what—if any—influence they have on public policy.

Eshbaugh-Soha shows that, when presidents speak, their    More >

Although unpaid, unelected, and unappointed, First Ladies have been functioning as powers behind the throne of the U.S. presidency since the nation was founded. This groundbreaking study shows clearly that the First Lady is an influential force in presidential politics and a subject worthy of serious scholarly attention.

Watson traces the development of the First Lady’s role—from    More >

What’s wrong with U.S. unions, and what could make it right? These are the questions addressed by eighteen partisans—union dissidents and noted scholars—of union democracy. Agreeing that any long-term solutions must come from the grassroots of the union movement, they argue for expansion rather than contraction, militancy rather than accommodation, and internal democracy rather    More >

The politics of immigration and migration control has taken on new urgency in the post-9/11 world as sovereignty concerns clash with industrialized democracies' continuing need for immigrants to fill jobs and sustain social security reserves.

Rosenblum analyzes U.S. immigration policy over the last 25 years, conceptualizing it as a two-stage, two-level game—thereby    More >

Completely revised throughout, the fourth edition of US National Security reflects the new strategic landscape as it has evolved in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks. The ongoing US military involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq, the focus on homeland security, the significant organizational changes in the intelligence bureaucracy, and the impact of the Bush Doctrine are    More >

Whistleblowers can ruin lives—and can save them. Is it worth it? Roberta Ann Johnson explores when and how—and to what effect—people make the choice to blow the whistle. Engrossing case studies from the tobacco industry, to NASA, to the FDA illustrate clearly how individual efforts can and do transform institutions, shape public policy, and serve as a force for    More >

The Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues (CCWI) was the most effective bipartisan organization in the House—until changes wrought by the "Republican revolution" of 1994 threatened its very survival. Irwin Gertzog analyzes the origin, development, and influence of the CCWI and explores how the women associated with it have emerged from near oblivion to reassert their role in the    More >